The formation of ice on vehicular windows is a well-known and problematic occurrence in cold environments. Ice may form on vehicle windows when snow contacts a heated window surface (e.g. heated from active defrosting elements or a heat source internal to the vehicle), melts, and freezes as the window surface cools (e.g. after all active defrosting elements and internal heat sources are no longer activated). Not only does the formation of ice obscure visibility, but it may also freeze automatic window wipers in place or simply decreases their effectiveness. Devices aiding in the removal of snow and ice are widely known and may take the form of, for example, conductive elements or heating strips that are embedded in a vehicle window. Devices of this type are commonly known as defrosters and work by increasing the temperature of the embedded conductive strips to heat the window thereby preventing the formation of ice and melting any ice already formed. Unfortunately, such defrosting systems may take an undesirably long period of time to melt enough ice to provide adequate visibility, especially if a large amount of ice is present and/or ambient temperature is low. Furthermore, it is impractical to operate a defrosting system when a vehicle's engine is not running due to vehicle battery limitations.
Also well-known and the subject of numerous patents are vehicular window wiping systems. Such systems employ at least one wiping member typically having a blade which contacts a vehicle window. A motor drives the wiping member across a portion of the window's surface to physically remove any accumulated snow or rain thereby helping to maintain driver visibility. Such systems also help minimize the above described formation of ice by sweeping away snow before it melts. However, it is often impracticable to operate such wiper systems after ignition shut-down (e.g. as when a vehicle is parked) again due to the vehicle's battery limitations. Furthermore, wiping systems of the type described above are relatively ineffective for removing ice after it has formed and may, as previously mentioned, freeze in place.
It is a common practice to use a manual cleaning tool to remove ice and snow. Such tools are well-known and may comprise a handle, a first end including an edged surface comprised of a hard material for scrapping ice off the window, and a second end comprising an edged surface of a soft material for removing moisture (i.e. a squeegee). Though such tools work reasonable well; their use requires time and energy. Also, such tools may not be able to substantially remove ice from wiper blades. Though this latter problem has been mitigated by providing wipers with integral heating elements or by providing vehicles with one or more fluid release nozzles positioned on a vehicle's hood or within a wiper blade assembly, such systems may be relatively complex and expensive to implement.
It should thus be appreciated that it would be desirable to provide an improved system for minimizing the accumulation of ice and snow on vehicle windows that is relatively inexpensive to implement and simple to use.